LaFayette school district officials have suspended several students after a "serious" bullying incident that took place in a high school locker room a week ago before a lacrosse practice.

LaFayette Superintendent Peter Tigh said several students have been disciplined in connection with the June 4 incident "and there were suspensions." Tigh said the district is taking the incident "very seriously" and said it was "dealt with swiftly and permanently."

The victim's mother, who Syracuse.com is not identifying because it could identify her underage son, said her 13-year-old son was attacked by two other boys in the locker room at LaFayette Junior-Senior High School last Wednesday. The mother said he was punched in the groin area, shoved against the locker, choked and poked with a lacrosse stick.

"This was an assault on my son and should not be taken lightly,'' said the mom, who added she's upset with the district's response to bullying in the schools. "This was a violent attack."

She said school staff didn't report the incident to police or call for medical help, and brushed it off to her as "boys fooling around in the locker room."

Tigh would not discuss how the school staff handled the incident. "There are still things coming out, and we are becoming aware of additional things as we go along,'' he said.

He said the district "has taken action" but would not provide specifics.

The mom said the district doesn't do enough when bullying is reported to officials, and said she and other parents are frustrated. A group of parents is expected to attend Thursday's 5:30 p.m. school board meeting to talk about bullying.

The bullying incident is being investigated by state police, said Trooper Jack Keller. The mother reported it to police, but would not bring her son in to be questioned by police. The mother said she didn't want to subject her son to reliving the experience.

Keller said the incident is being investigated as juvenile harassment, but there would be no charges as the students are all under age 16.

Keller said there were no physical injuries to the boy, and none of the 16 people interviewed by police, including the boys in the locker room, corroborated any actions "that would rise to the level of an assault."

Harassment is defined legally as "pushing, shoving, annoying or harassing" a person.

"There may have been physical contact, but not to the level of assault,'' Keller said.

Medical records provided by the father show no physical injuries, although the ER doctor was unable to complete the exam because the boy left in the middle, police said.

While the specifics of what occurred in that locker room are unclear, no one is disputing that the boy was bullied. His mother says it's happened before and to other students by one of the same students involved in this incident.

She said school administrators are selective about what they do when bullying is reported to them.

Tigh said the district will be reviewing its bullying policies and procedures, and will discuss the topic of bullying in open session Thursday. "We are looking at ideas to help us prevent bullying from happening,'' he said.

Board president Tom Scofield said the incident is "so damned unfortunate that we are grasping on how best to deal with it, and make sure it doesn't happen again." There are strict reporting rules when it comes to bullying. he said.

In 2010, New York passed the Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) which created specific regulations for addressing bullying in schools, including prohibition of harassment and discrimination by other students and staff. It took effect July of 2012

The act also mandated districts to appoint at least one staff member per school to handle all bullying incidents, and requires administrators to report all incidents to the state Department of Education.